SpartAce I: School Love Affair

Brace for the Ending. hehe

Jong Kook is frustrated. It has been days since he had talked to Song Ji Hyo. She is trying to avoid them, again.

And what gets him so crazy about it is the thought that he might have talked to her aunt already.

For the past few days,  he has been trying to catch her. But the girl has gotten so good at avoiding any of the guys that she can only be seen during class hours.

Kwang Soo says everytime they get dismissed, Ji Hyo would immediately walk as if she could not hear them calling her.

Dong Hoon made the stupid decision of following her once and he ended up with a bruise in his thighs. He said she kicked him like she was kicking for a goal at soccer. That made Jong Kook wonder how desperate she was in avoiding them that she even did that to Dong Hoon.

He tried looking for her around the school and up at the rooftop, many times, but she was nowhere to be found.

Now it is lunch break and he is wandeeing around the school again, hoping to spot a sign of Ji Hyo. He's growing impatient. He sees no other option in this situation but to talk about it. But how could they if she's hiding like a wanted criminal.

He turns to a hallway where only little students pass because it leads to some rooms which are barely used. He has never looked in her before.

He passes by the door of the music room, where the sign of the club being disbanded is still posted.

He is just about to ignore it when he hears something. He stops dead in his tracks. He hears faint music, coming from inside.

He draws closer to the door and presses his ears against it.

The music becomes louder, clearer this time.

He grabs the knob of the door and finds out it is locked. But he is certain someone is inside. Maybe it's Ji Hyo.

Just in time, the music shifts to another melody. A familiar one.

His heart skips a beat the moment he recognizes the piece as the one being played by Ji Hyo during her performance.

He immediately feels the need to get inside.

Then he remembers loitering around this area once. He hurries towards the next door, which leads to another sets of the doors of the dance studios.

He passes by the piles of doors and goes directly to the one ahead, facing him. This one leads to the Music room, it is meant to be used for students who might feel the need to practice their instruments in any of the studios.

He turns the knob and pushes the door, relieved that it isn't locked.

And there, right across the room, is Song Ji Hyo, with her back facing his direction.

She must be so focused on the piece or too absorbed in her own thoughts that she did not hear the door open or hear his light footsteps as he approaches her.

He wants to yell at her then and there. How could she be doing this when everything is already hard for them without her doing this? How could she make him worry about their relationship? Does she even know that he stays up late at night thinking that she might be tired already and has chosen tk give up?

But as he stops right behind her, all his temper evaporated. He could not dare to yell at her.

"Yah. ", he says weakly.

She hastily turns, frightened at his unannounced presence, that she almost knocks the electric keyboard off.

Her eyes are round and panicked as a doe who is blinded by the headlights. They dart around as though searching for an escape.

He thought she is mature enough not to do such childish thing, but she does.

She makes a run for it.

Fortunately, his reflexes are faster than his brain could process, and he is able to sling his arm in front of her before she could get past.

She ends up being trapped by his strong right arm, and she even considers escaping. But he pulls her close and wraps his arms tight around her, burrying his face in her hair like he usually does.

"Ji Hyo-ah, please don't do this to me.", he begs, unable to stop himself.

She stops fighting his hold and melts into his warmth, letting him hold her close.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I don't know how to face you guys anymore."

He lifts his head up to look at her. By the look in her eyes, his unspoken question is already answered. She already knows.

"I don't want to keep hurting you guys. Especially you."

"You think that by staying away, you're not hurting us? I thought we already talked about this, Song Ji Hyo. "

"But it's the only way to stop my aunt."

"She can't stop us."

"Yes, she can. She's already done things to you, to Joong Ki, to Gary-oppa. Who knows what other things she would do? "

"I don't care about what she'll do."

Ji Hyo pushes him by the chest and steps back, her face full of pain. "We can't be happy while others are suffering for us, Oppa."

He is surprised by the way she pushed him that his long-held temper sparks as he asks, "What are you trying to say, Song Ji Hyo? "

Her stormy eyes looks at him as if there is a tornado going on inside her head, and in that few seconds of silence, he wishes she would not say what he has been afraid of all these time.

Don't say it. Please don't.,  he mentally says.

"M-maybe.. we should just give it a re---! "

Desperately, he leans closer and presses his lips against hers, cutting off what she is trying to say.

He runs a hand towards the back of her neck, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss. Her lips are so warm that his thoughts get blurry. He could not imagine having to let her go. No, he could not let that happen. Mi Ran has to make him lose everything before that wpuld happen.

He could feel Ji Hyo tremble against him, but his other hand on her waist also feels her relax, as if she is finding comfort in the kiss. Maybe she does, because she starts responding, her arms clinging around his neck.

The taste of her sweet lips in his are making him lose his mind that he can feel his heart race crazily inside his chest, and he has to stop before he stopping would be impossible.

He presses her face against his chest, wishing that she could hear the abnormal beating of his heart.

"Don't say it. ", he says. "Whatever you were trying to say, please don't say it.", he says.

He feels her take a deep breathe and there is silence between them for a while. She seems to be weighing the situation in her mind.

"We have to be cautious, Oppa. We can't meet openly like before. We can't be seen together in public."

He sighs in relief and kisses her in the forehead, and in the head, and in her temples. He is just so relieved that she had considered.

"I understand, Ji Hyo-ah.", he says.